OGA Dota PIT DPC league blasted by fans, pros for qualifiers

Growing pains are a constant when it comes to Dota 2 esports, and the transition to the new Dota Pro Circuit is no different.

The regional leagues are already underway, and while some have been well-received by fans, others have immediately drummed up controversy. The biggest offender is OGA Dota PIT’s South American league, which has frustrated fans and pro players alike over the past week.

The latest controversy stems from the seeding of the open qualifiers. While the open qualifiers for South America are largely filled with unknown teams, there are three teams with a number of notable players. Unfortunately, the qualifiers were seeded in such a way that two of these teams will be forced to face off along the way. 

Brazilian squad One Million, which includes veterans William "hFn" Medeiros and Otávio "Tavo" Gabriel, is set to face Alexis "Greedy" Ventura’s 0-900 in the final round of the qualifiers. This will see one of these teams fall short of a place in the regional leagues, and there won’t be a second chance for them, either. There is just one open qualifier for Dota PIT’s league, which will leave the losers without any chance of earning a spot at The International 10.

That’s a devastating blow for the pro players involved, and a significant misfire by both Valve and the tournament organizer.

Why are people mad about the Dota Pro Circuit leagues?

The Dota Pro Circuit leagues have drummed up controversy due to their somewhat strange qualification system, and many in the Dota 2 community are mad about it. There are two major complaints with the leagues.

The first is the methodology behind selecting invited teams. Though four teams from each region received direct invitations to their upper division leagues, there was little rhyme or reason to anything beyond that. China and Europe are both deep enough to put together a credible set of closed qualifiers, but other regions have had to get creative. Instead of picking new teams with proven players, OGA is opting to pick established teams at any level to step in.

The second issue is the lack of opportunity for teams to go from the open qualifiers to the upper division. Though most regions have seen newly formed teams quickly rise up the ranks, teams that were just pulled together face a long road to reach the upper division and don’t have any hope of playing in the first major Dota 2 tournament of the season.

Unfortunately, there’s no sign of this being remedied. Despite days of criticism, Dota PIT hasn’t acknowledged the complaints on social media and it’s unlikely that Valve will do anything about it.